


Year One

by socksbeforeglocks



Series: Enemy of the Empire [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: F/F, Lana/Caydenn if you squint, OC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-01 03:41:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12147867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/socksbeforeglocks/pseuds/socksbeforeglocks
Summary: As Lana scours the galaxy looking for answers as to who destroyed Marr's fleet she reconnects with an old friend and finds a new ally.





	Year One

**Author's Note:**

> Just a new series that I'm starting to supplement my other main story that I'm still ironing plot details out on. This story will hopefully give more context to my Knights of the Fallen Empire story and because I've always been curious as to what happened to Lana in those five years the Outlander was sealed away.  
> As always thanks for reading :)

Lana let her fingers drift over the landing controls of her personal ship as it gently set down on the landing pad. She shut the ships primary engines off and gazed out the viewport to the sprawling capital city of the planet Yablari. Buildings wound around massive biodomes and interspersed amongst the colossal skyscrapers were artificial waterfalls that fed the cities irrigation system. The Anomids were truly masters of technology and had bent the land to their will. 

Lana sifted through her bag next to her and pulled out her personal datapad, scanning through a message sent to her by Crale Brintt, an Anomid engineer and machinist. She had first approached Brintt a few weeks prior with her ships navicomputer. In her search for the elusive enemies that had destroyed Darth Marr's fleet it had led her into the fringes of Wild space, a sector largely uncharted except by pirates or the odd scout ship that had trailed too far into the region. Over the past several months Lana had meticulously gathered coordinates and navicomputer information from various sources that had traveled into Wild space and begun constructing a detailed layout of the unknown system. Her navicomputer though aboard her personal ship did not have the technological capabilities to map all of the coordinate's she had imputed into it. Thus she had sought out Brintt. 

Lana pulled her hood up to conceal her head and face as she departed her ship. Even though Yablari was located deep in the Outer Rim far from Dromund Kas and Korriban and was neutrally aligned its advanced technology and agricultural resources attracted beings from all corners of the galaxy, Imperial included. And while Lana had been fortunate enough to avoid detection by the Sith Empire in her arrival to the system, she knew they were still hunting her. In her last brief contact with Massaia the Dark Council member had solemnly told her she had been labeled an enemy of the Empire. A traitor who had been given the death mark. Several large bounties had also been placed on her head courtesy of Darth Ravage. And Bensynn, the Empire's Wrath and one of her closest friends, was furious. Massaia had attempted to talk her brother down, but to no avail. The Wrath was leading the charge to find her, intent on bringing her back and making her see reason. 

In the coming months Lana had been hyper-vigilant in her dealings. Several times she had been nearly cornered by Sith assassins and she had dispatched many bounty hunters who had come to collect her head and the bounty. She paid her fair to a taxi droid and stepped aboard the crowded tram that would take her into the city. She jostled for a place to stand and bumped into a tall Zabrak. She turned to apologize to the woman when her breath caught in her throat. Short black hair twisted around horns and just barely brushed broad shoulders. A deep scar ran across the woman's nose and twisted behind an ear. She looked like Caydenn. Lana shook her head and stepped back. 

“Watch it,” the Zabrak grunted and glared over her shoulder. Lana didn't respond back and noticed that at second glance the woman really didn't look anything like the missing Major. Whereas this woman's eyes were a hard flinty gray, Caydenn's were a placid blue with a scattering of freckles across her cheeks. This woman's skin was dusty tan with harsh black tattoo's crisscrossing over her arms and face while Caydenn's skin was a rugged brown with smooth interlocking tattoo's and various scars dotting her body. It was clear she was tired and her mind was making her see things that weren't there. 

The tram shuddered to a stop. People streamed out of the doors and onto the busy streets outside. Lana cut left and ducked down a set of stairs intent on moving to the lower levels of the city where Brintt resided. The Anomid had sent her message indicating her navicomputer was updated. She had entailed Brintt's services before and first met the Anomid on Hoth many years ago when she had been stationed there before Treaty of Coruscant. The crafty Anomid had been scavenging downed warships for parts and had been caught by an Imperial patrol. The Imperial officers had wanted to execute the alien on sight, but Lana had stayed their hand. Instead she put the Anomid to work, repairing communication terminals, droids, and equipment. In turn she let him keep his salvage and more importantly his life. In the months that followed on Hoth the Anomid had been invaluable. He taught her the basics of repair and in turn she defended him against the more prejudiced Imperial soldiers. 

When her time on Hoth had ended and the war with the Republic finished Lana and Crale parted ways. The Anomid returned to salvage work and Lana returned to Korriban. Over the years she had contracted work out to the talented engineer and she counted the Anomid as a strange friend. As she rounded the corner on the lower levels of the city she caught sight of Brintt's shop. It was a small rundown building sandwiched in between two other stores. Various machine parts hung from the windows and the automated doors didn't fully close. Lana stepped inside and breathed in the sharp smell of machine oil and burn off from an acetylene torch. Racks of refurbished machine parts and various refabricated machines cluttered the front of the shop. Lana picked her way past the precariously stacked stock and made her way to the counter in the back where Brintt was wiping down a servo wrench. She tapped her finger on the laminated counter stained with grease and the Anomid turned. Crale Brintt was a tall, thickly built Anomid with greasy hair pulled back over a discolored jumpsuit. On first glance one could mistake the surly looking Anomid as a thug rather than a brilliant engineer. 

“So you got my message,” Brintt grunted putting the wrench down and motioning for her to follow him into the back. Lana followed the engineer back into his cluttered workshop and waited for him to pull her navicomputer out. He set it on his desk. It didn't look any different from when Lana had dropped it off, but she knew it would now be able to plot courses into Wild Space. 

“How much do I owe you Brintt?” Lana asked reaching for her credit chit. 

The Anomid nervously rubbed the back of his neck and coughed. “Well at the moment nothing since I haven't finished modifying it yet.”

Lana blinked. “Then why did you send me a message saying you were done?”

“Because I nearly am. I just need one more part to complete your upgrades,” Brintt explained. Lana motioned for him to go on. “I need a cortex processor, but I don't have one and all of my usual suppliers are out also since it's a rather rare and hard to come by part.” 

“I feel a but coming on,” Lana interjected crossing her arms. 

“But another shop owner has the part,” Brintt finished. 

“Great then why haven't you gotten it?” Lana asked. 

Brintt scowled deeply. “Because Hersh Mald has it.” 

“Who?” Lana questioned arching a pale brow. 

Brintt paced away making several rude gestures in the Anomid sign language with his hands. “Hersh Mald that karking shavit has the last part I need, but he won't sell it to me.”

“And why's that?”

“He's still sore over a bad deal that happened years ago between the two of us,” Brintt dismissed idly and Lana knew there was more to this story then the Anomid was letting on. While she and Brintt had maintained a healthy working relationship she knew the engineer was known by others to be somewhat of a cheat and scammer. His brilliance often impeded by his own selfish nature. 

“Alright so how do we get the part?”

Brintt rubbed his jaw in contemplation “Every attendant that I've sent has been unsuccessful. Mald knows all of their faces. However.” Brintt looked her over thoughtfully.

“What?” Lana crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Mald doesn't know you and he would have no reason to suspect our connection,” Brintt explained. 

Lana narrowed her eyes at the Anomid. She hadn't planned on coming here to play errand girl to Crale Brintt and risk drawing attention to herself. However, she needed that part for her navicomputer. “Where do I find Mald?”

Though she couldn't see his face Lana suspected Brintt was smiling widely under his vocalizer unit. “His shop is in the Kobald Marketplace in the upper tiers of the city.” Lana bit the inside of her cheek. The Kobald Marketplace was one of the most crowded parts of the city teeming with security and beings of all kind. It was the heart of Yablari's capital city. It also meant the chances of Lana being seen and exposed were that much higher. The Imperial's maintained a strong presence in the marketplace along with the Republic since the Anomid's upheld a strict neutrality rule. And while the Empire was actively hunting her down she knew if the Republic caught her she'd be in an even worse position. Brintt must have noticed her hesitation. “Is something wrong?”

Lana shook her head. “Just give me the coordinate's for his shop.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kobald Marketplace was congested on any given day. Crowds of beings swarmed the shops and museums that lined the streets. Vaulted walkways crisscrossed overhead and led to massive hanging gardens blooming with every imaginable plant and flower the Anomid had managed to engineer and cross breed. Closed skybridge's cut through artificial waterfalls slicing the rushing water in half. The glaring sun radiated off the waterfalls and onto reflective mirrors and alumabronze statues that cast prisms of light all over the marketplace. The word Kobald in the Anomid language meant 'radiant' and Lana could see why. She had never had the privilege of visiting the famed marketplace before and felt a tinge of regret that she didn't have the time to better explore the museums and historical monuments scattered about. Her curiosity for knowledge however was outweighed by her pragmatism. She couldn't afford to wander about and risk being detected. She already felt exposed in the open air market. 

She pushed her way through the populous ducking past an Imperial regiment and into a tall luxury ferrocrete building. The building was sectioned off into various stores and shops with Hersh Mald's located on the top floor. She took the elevator to the top floor and stepped out into a high vaulted atrium with large floor to ceiling windows letting natural light flood in. A far cry from Crale Brintt's small, cluttered shop, Hersh Mald's store was spacious and well organized. The walls were a light cobalt interspersed with geometrical white patterns. The product was organized by type and modal with floating service droids darting about to help customers and organize stock. 

Lana pulled her hood back, shaking her blond hair free as she approached the long brass counter. It would do her no good to appear suspicious in this store. The expensive metal glinted in the sunlight as Lana tapped the alert buzzer on the edge of the counter. A tall lanky Anomid dressed in black pants detailed with Kelsh and a green fitted shirt emerged from the back. His hair was neatly combed back and his vocalizer unit was decorated with a fine metal finish. 

“How may I help you?” The Anomid spread his hands wide over the counter. 

“I'm looking for a cortex processor. Word is your shop is the only one that carries such a part,” Lana said appearing nonchalant and casually inspecting the display cases nearby. 

“A cortex processor you say. Such a special part. One that I've been asked about several times over the past few days. What would you need one for?,” Mald inquired?

Lana shrugged. “A good businessman doesn't ask too many questions.” She flashed a dark look in his direction, yellow eyes staring down his sightless pupils. Mald swallowed thickly. 

“My apologies my lord.” Mald gave a slight bow of deference. “A rival business owner has been trying for days now to get his grimy hands on the cortex processor.” 

The Anomid motioned for Lana to follow him into another room behind sealed automated doors. “Sounds like this goes further than just being a rival looking for a part,” Lana pointed out coolly. 

Mald made a sound of disgust. “Coward backed out on a very lucrative deal the Schism Collective was making with the Empire.”

Lana blinked in surprise at that. Brintt had never told her he had worked with the Schism Collective. The Collective was an independent organization operating outside of Anomid government, but secretly supported by many of the people. It contained some of the most brilliant Anomid scientist's who conducted experiments outside of ethics that bordered on illegal. “You worked with the Schism Collective?”

“For a time until I sold some of my more profitable ideas and settled here,” Mald replied with a wave of his hand. He slid a keycard from a chain that hung around his neck off and slipped it into a locked display case containing various technological parts. Mald pulled out a slim black disc no larger than the width of his hand and placed it on top of the display case. “One cortex processor brand new. Now the price...”

Lana waved him off. “Cost is no matter.” While many of her accounts had been frozen when she had left the Empire she still had a few private stashes for emergencies. The Anomid's milky pupils glinted and he tilted his head in thought. A sudden loud crash caused them both to whip around. There in the back corner near a service door was a yellow and black droid stooping low to quickly gather up the various boxes it had dropped. 

“Stupid droid,” Mald hissed stalking forward towards the hapless machine. “How many times do I have to tell you to be careful with the merchandise?”

“Apology: I am sorry master my damaged photoreceptor did not account for the last step to the door,” the droid explained. Upon closer inspection the droid stood at a meter and half. Its chassis was chipped and riddled with blaster bolts. Its center power core was badly damaged, the light glowed dully and one of its photoreceptors looked blown out. The poor thing looked like it hadn't have been serviced in years. 

“I don't want any excuses droid just put the merchandise away,” snapped the Anomid before turning back towards her. “I'm sorry about the interruption.”

“That droid looks like it could use a good tune up,” Lana said nodding her head at the retreating droid who was dutifully stacking shelves. 

“Please I wouldn't waste my credits or any other beings time on that walking pile scrap,” Mald dismissed her concern. 

“It looks like its taken a beating,” Lana observed not willing to drop the subject. Perhaps she felt a twinge of sympathy for the poor machine who had to toil under such an unbearable master or perhaps Caydenn's love for all droids had worn off on her. She smiled ruefully at the thought. 

“The droid was part of a collection payment I got from a Mandalorian I did work for. It supposedly protected the bounty hunter from a stray frag grenade. It's practically useless now. Someday I'll get around to scrapping the thing,” Mald intoned callously and Lana frowned at his attitude. “Now to business. I would say three thousand credits is more than reasonable.” 

Lana snorted in derision. “If your a halfwit and don't know the fair market value for such tech. I'll give you thirteen hundred.”

Mald laughed in reply, but a withering look thrown his way quieted his chuckles. “True thirteen hundred would be the normal market value, but your not buying this under normal circumstances. I am the only one in the city with access to a cortex processor which means I can set the price on a steeper end. However, let it not be said I can't be generous. Twenty-five hundred.”

Lana shrugged nonchalantly. “I am not in dire need for the part. I'll give you sixteen hundred. You can take it or I'll just go to the next city and see what I find.” She waited with baited breath to see if Mald would call her bluff. 

He narrowed his eyes and rubbed his six-fingered hands together. “Twenty-one hundred for the part. You won't find a better deal anywhere else.”

“Hmmm I'm sure I can find someone who is selling it for eighteen hundred,” Lana remarked. 

Mald shifted his weight from foot to foot. His business savvy warring with his inner greed. Finally he cleared his throat. “Eighteen hundred sounds like a reasonable price,” he relented reluctantly. 

Lana gave him a terse smile. “Glad you could see things my way.” 

Mald didn't reply. “Droid bring me a transportation box.” Lana watched as the droid turned to acknowledge his master a box placed too close to the shelf's edge tumbled off, spilling the contents all over the droid and onto the ground. Mald immediately took notice of this and hit a button on his wrist link. A sharp jolt of electricity spiked through the poor droid causing it to topple backwards and land awkwardly on its back.

“Idiotic pile of scrap. I should have melted you down into a pile of slag. At least then you would be something useful,” Mald seethed. 

“Remorse: Master I did not mean-.”

“No more excuses. I'm having you scrapped tonight,” Mald hissed shocking the droid again. The poor thing seemed to curl in on itself as if Mald's cruel words had wounded it. 

Lana clenched her fists at the merciless sight and resisted the urge to give Mald a taste of his own medicine. Lightening sparked at her fingertips, but Lana took a deep breath reigning in her anger. It wouldn't do her any good to cause a scene. “How much for the droid?” Lana asked suddenly. 

Mald turned to her in surprise. “What?”

“How much for the droid?” Lana repeated drawing the words out in a patronizing manner. 

He stared at her in disbelief. “You mean this junk.” Mald indicated to the black and yellow droid and Lana nodded. “Why would you want this thing?”

“It's clear you have no more use for it and I'm always in the business of procuring new droids,” Lana lied smoothly. In truth she wasn't sure why she was making such an impetuous buy. The droid truly was a mess, probably worth more as melted down parts. However, the only thing flashing through her mind is how if Caydenn were here the soldier would have pushed Mald aside and patched the droid up herself. The Zabrak always did have a major soft spot for droids. It appeared that Lana may be developing one to. 

Mald cocked his head to the side in interest. “Eight thousand credits.”

“Eight thousand credits really? I'll give you forty-five hundred considering I'll have to refurbish it myself,” Lana argued. 

“Forty-five hundred! I could get more if I melted it down for parts,” Mald scoffed. “Besides the droid was an assassination model before it took a frag. Sixty-three hundred and no less.” 

“Fine,” Lana agreed turning away from the Anomid and instead offering a hand down to the droid. Its metal hand grabbed her own as she helped to right it. 

“Gratitude: Thank you meatbag,” the droid said jovially. Lana quirked a brow at the odd name. 

“Your welcome. I think,” Lana responded before turning to Mald to hand him her credit chit. He ran the transaction and handed her the cortex processor and dismantled the droids restraining bolt. 

“You belong to her now droid.” Mald thrust his chin at Lana before turning to walk back into his stores main area, herding Lana and the droid out of his back room. 

Lana turned and tentatively extended her hand towards the droid, not sure what to do in this situation. “My name is Lana Beniko.”

The droid firmly grasped her hand in reciprocation. “Salutations: I am HK-55."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lana sat swinging her feet back and forth on Brintts elevated work desk, watching as the Anomid swore and pulled another clump of twisted, blackened wires from within HK's chest. “Damn this droid has been through a lot,”

Lana nodded solemnly. “Mald mentioned he was employed to a Mandalorian.”

“Well it certainly shows. Though that scum sucker didn't do much to rectify the damage this droid received.” Brintt ran a hydrospanner over the droids internal components.

Lana sat quiet for a few minutes just watching Brintt carefully work to remove HK's damaged parts while the droid sat studiously silent. “Mald almost didn't sell me the cortex processor. He was convinced I might be another one of your errand runners.”

Brintt snorted. “Crazy coon is paranoid I'll swipe his merch from right under his vocalizer.”

“Hmmm he was not a fan of yours,” Lana remarked. 

“The feelings mutual,” Brintt grunted. 

Silence drifted over them comfortably as Lana looked over her new navicomputer, complete with a new cortex processor. “He really is a horrible person,” Lana mused idly. Brintt gave a loud bark of laughter and in turn Lana joined him.

“That schutta is truly the worst,” Brintt chuckled in agreement. “Miserable son of a sow.” 

Lana paused, considering her next words carefully. “He made mention of your past work together.” 

“Did he now,” Brintt murmured. 

Lana tried to gauge his mood. “He mentioned how you backed out of a deal with the Empire while you worked with the Schism Collective.”

The Anomid gave a heavy sigh and sat back on his haunches away from HK. “That was a long time ago.”

“When did you work with the Collective?”

Brintt eyed her cautiously as if unwillingly to divulge such information or delve back into past memories. “It was before I met you on Hoth. I was young and looking for a chance to make a name for myself. My research was in weapons development. Weapons not openly supported by the Anomid Science Council or government. So I approached the only other viable organization that would give me the resources and test subjects I needed for my experiments.”

“The Schism Collective,” Lana said. 

He nodded gravely. “They were...very interested in my work. And even more interested in the credit value attached to it. I helped the Schism develop cutting edge cloaking technology that we sold to the Empire for a large profit. I invented multi-firing pinpoint accurate missile battery's for the Republic so they would look the other way and not interfere with the Collectives....less than savory experiments.”

“Then why leave? What made you back out?” asked Lana softly sensing a deep guilt well up in the Anomid. 

He was quiet for a few moments, tapping his servo wrench on his knee rhythmically. “The more resources I was given...the more I began to dabble in science that is better left alone,” Brintt replied cryptically. Lana raised a brow but didn't push him. He sighed at her curious expression. 

“I became..enamored with the biological and the effects, both positive and negative, that could be wrought upon the body. Every beings body is different and yet chemically similar in the same stretch. I was searching for a way to incapacitate one's body on a molecular level. With the war between the Empire and Republic in its height the Empire was pushing for new weapons. I was tasked with developing a biological weapon that could eradicate the many alien troops the Republic employed.” Lana stayed silent not wanting to interrupt the Anomid. 

He sat back and twisted the wrench between his fingers. “I tried many times to find something that would work. A one size fits all genocide solution. What incapacitated one species wouldn't affect another. After so many failed attempts I came to the realization that perhaps there wasn't a way to artificially produce mass extinction. Life would always find away to survive,” Brintt pondered. 

“Was that what caused your falling out with the Schism Collective? The fact that you couldn't deliver,” asked Lana carefully. 

“No. After sometime I accidentally discovered that a chemical combine I created reacted violently to artificial components within body like enhancements, prosthetic limbs, and augmentations. Many soldier's in the Republics army have small enhancements such as stim shunts and many special forces units had numerous augmentations,” Brintt responded. 

“How did it work?” Lana shifted back a bit and crossed her arms over her chest. 

Brintt gave her a pained look. “The chemical was dissolved in an airborne fashion and once breathed in would seek out the artificial materials and metals within the body. Once the two came into the contact the chemicals would oxidize the metal and lead to toxins being released throughout the body. The body would go into septic shock from the toxins.” Brintt looked away and stared down at his hands. “The process was slow and painful. The effects were irreversible. Any being that had an augmentation was susceptible.”

Lana felt her gut twist as she imagined a being writhing in agony as their body shut down from the toxins coursing through their system. An image of Caydenn curled up on the ground, the soldier's body wracked with painful spasms as the chemical combine ate away at her metal prosthetic arm and the numerous augmentations in her body flashed through the Sith's mind. Lana shuddered at the thought. “How does Hersh Mald tie in with this?”

“I met with Mald shortly after I discovered the chemical compound and tried it out on the test animals available to me. Though he's a slimy two-faced twit, he was...an ingenious...inventor per say,” Crale admitted begrudgingly. “The Schism Collective placed the two of us together to finish the project. Mald developed a delivery system, a clever aerosol grenade that would disperse the chemical on a timed throw and keep it insulated and stable. I had the chemical compound. We combined our projects and finally presented our completed weapon to the Collectives board. They went over all of our data, but said they wanted a test run before approaching the Empire.” Brintt grew quiet and stared overhead at the flickering light. 

“What happened?” Lana pressed gently. The Anomid took a few moments to respond. 

“They brought in live subjects. I had experimented on many variety of sentient animals but never live beings. They brought in all different types to. Twi'leks, Humans, Rattataki. Even managed to snag a Chiss somehow. They locked them in a sealed chamber and lobbed one of our grenades in. The chemical dispersed and at first nothing happened. Then one by one they all started dropping or running to the door to try and pry it open. It took them several hours to die. They would vomit and convulse then vomit some more until the only thing they were hacking up was bile and blood. Poor bastards never had a chance,” Brintt murmured. 

“Interjection: A blaster bolt is a much quicker and more efficient form of extermination,” HK-55 piped up. 

Brintt chuckled darkly at HK's remark and patted the droids knee. “That it is HK, and far less messy. When I saw first hand what my compound could do I destroyed every trace of my work and left the Schism Collective. They were furious that I had walked out on them and cost them one of their most lucrative deals and their good standing with the Empire. Hersh Mald took a lot of the heat to since he couldn't recreate my formula and that's why he has it out for me. None of them could. Only I remember it.” Brintt tapped his forehead to emphasize his point. “Afterwards I moved around a lot dodging bounty hunters the Collective sent after me. Made your lovely acquaintance on Hoth and eventually made my way back here.”

“Does the Schism Collective still bother you?” Lana inquired slightly worried for the Anomid's safety after hearing about his past. 

He shook his head. “The Collective gave up wasting their resources on me a long time ago. Besides they have no official power here on Yablari and have to abide by the laws set up by the government.” 

Brintt turned back to his work on HK and Lana mulled over the information the engineer had just revealed to her. She sensed Brintt was downplaying the fallout he received from abandoning the Schism Collective. While the organization had no official power here on Yablari it was no secret it held a substantial financial sway over many of the political officials. She wondered if that was why a brilliant engineer like Brintt was regulated to living in the slums. 

Hours passed and Lana found herself dozing off in a chair, head propped up in one of her gloved hands as the comforting smell of grease and acetylene burn off wafted around her. It reminded her of Caydenn. The soldier was always tinkering with something on Rishi and more often then not had grease staining her strong hands. Lana smiled drowsily at the thought. 

“What's got you so smiley?”

Lana pulled herself out of her hazy recollections and turned to see Brintt rewiring HK's damaged photoreceptor. “Nothing.” 

“Mmhm. You know it's not very polite to be so closed off when someone else just bared their darkest secret to you,” Crale remarked dryly. 

Lana rolled her eyes at the Anomid. “Its nothing. Just...remembering someone from the past.”

“Someone who made you happy I take it,” Brintt assumed. 

“For a time.” Lana bit her lip at the memories of Caydenn making her laugh at her terribly timed flirts and awful corny jokes. The soldier's strong unwavering presence that stood with her in battle. The deep affection that still shone in her eyes even after all the horrible things Lana had said to her on Ziost. 

“What happened to them?” Brintt asked.

“I don't know,” Lana replied softly thinking back to Darth Marr's destroyed fleet and Caydenn's funeral held on Coruscant. How she would still catch the faintest hints of Caydenn's presence, but they would then vanish almost instantly leaving Lana to wonder if they were figments of her imagination or real. Even if Caydenn was dead Lana still needed know what had happened. Who had attacked Marr's fleet so brazenly then disappeared without a trace?

“Well,” Brintt started standing up and wiping his hands on his pants. “I'm almost done with HK's repairs.” 

Lana smiled in thanks at Brintt's obvious change in subject and the Anomid's eyes softened in return. HK appeared in a lot better shape. His chassis was repaired from the external damage and both of his photoreceptors glowed brightly. The droid looked every bit as poised and deadly as an assassin droid should. 

“HK you look marvelous,” Lana said looking the droid up and down in appreciation. 

“Gratitude: Thank you Master.” If droids could beam at praise then HK was absolutely radiant right now. 

“He's almost done. Just a few more tune ups and a new motivator and he'll be good as new,” Brintt explained. “Which while I finish up those tune ups I'll need you to run to my storage unit and pick up the spare motivator I have there.” 

“Don't you have plenty of those lying around here?” Lana pointed out. 

“The motivator there is a special one I upgraded myself.” 

“Crale you don't have to do that,” Lana began to protest but Brintt stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. 

“HK will need it if your navicomputer maps are any indication to what trouble you'll be getting yourself into,” Brintt said seriously. 

“You looked through my navicomputer data?” Lana asked incredulously. 

Brintt shrugged unapologetically. “I perused through as I was installing your cortex processor.” 

Lana sighed in mock exasperation but also smiled. “Thank you Brintt. For all your help.”

He waved her off. “Don't mention it. I'll just add it to your tab.” 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The lower slums of Yablari's capital city were teeming with trouble. A far cry from the highly secure and affluent Kobald Market, gangs like the Black Sun and Migrant Merchants Guild ran rampart in the lower districts. The government, like many did, claimed the problem was being dealt with, but so far Lana hadn't come across one security patrol. It seemed as if the government had given up policing this part of the city. All manner of characters from the underworld skulked about in the gloomy darkness. Lana breezed past. Her time on the run, avoiding the Empire's death squads, had taught her how to blend in anywhere she went. Brintt's storage unit was just up ahead. A sudden prickling sensation ran down her spine and Lana turned abruptly. No one was there except for a few vagrants huddled around a fire burning low in a hollowed out chemical drum. Lana pushed out with her senses, attempting to locate the disturbance but it was gone. She shook her head and ducked inside the storage unit. 

The unit was small and filled to the brim with all manner of machine parts and tools. Lana flicked on her flashlight and scanned the various shelves for the motivator. She found it nestled comfortably on a bottom shelf. She scooped the part up and carefully placed it in her bag before quickly exiting the unit. As she cut through the dank streets back towards Brintt's shop the prickling sensation returned. Lana veered a sharp right down a busy street and the sensation followed. She ducked around a few more bends trying to shake the presence, but it doggedly followed in her footsteps. Lana swore softly. She had somehow managed to pick up a tail. She sidestepped into a crowded bar and pressed towards the back. Lana pulled the Force within herself and dampened her connection, effectively shielding herself and presence from the senses of others. 

Two tall beings cloaked in obscure dark robes entered the bar. Their faces were shrouded in deep cowls and they moved about the room silently. The presence of the Dark Side hung around them. Possible assassins who had tracked her down to Yablari or Sith who had noticed her presence while she was in the Kobald Marketplace. It was clear they were obviously looking for her. Either way she had to get off this world now. Lana stepped out the back door and took off down the ally way. She looped around the district to make sure she had truly lost her pursuers before heading back to Brintt's shop.

She slipped inside the back door to his shop and found the Anomid buffing out some of the scratches on HK's chassis. Lana pulled the motivator out of her bag and handed it to Brintt. The engineer set to work replacing HK's motivator. Lana paced back and forth across the floor, trying to calculate out how much time she had before she was discovered again. 

“Keep up that pacing and you'll wear a hole in my floor,” Brintt grunted as he finished his repairs. 

Lana paused in her movements. “Are you almost done?”

Brintt looked back at her in suspicion. “What's wrong?”

“Why do you think somethings wrong?”

“Your more jittery than a womprat drunk on caf. You run into something?” Brintt asked.

Lana shook her head. “The less you know the better.”

Brintt shrugged his shoulders and welded HK's chassis shut. “Well I'm done here. If you want we can go to your ship now and I can install your navicomputer.”

Again Lana shook her head. “I'll do it myself. Thank you for your help Brintt.” She set down a few credits and picked up her navicomputer. She couldn't risk Brintt being seen with her and possibly getting hurt. She had been continuously scanning her surroundings and not picked up any disturbances, but Lana knew her former pursuers were not far behind her. 

“All right suit yourself,” Crale groused picking up his credits. Lana moved to exit out the back of his shop with HK in tow. She still wasn't sure if she should leave the droid with Brintt or take him along. She turned to address the Anomid again. 

“Brintt HK-.”

“Belongs with you,” the engineer interrupted already knowing what she was going to say. He fetched a long black case from underneath one of his worktables and opened it, drawing out a large heavy rifle. He turned and handed the impressive weapon to HK who immediately began inspecting it. “That's a CZ-191 heavy carbine repeating rifle with a grenade mod attached to it. Laser sites and thermal scopes that can track anything. Should work well for you HK.”

“Gratitude: Thank you meatbag for the fine weapon.” HK righted the sights to one of his photoreceptors and stared down the barrel. 

Brintt shrugged in response then turned one last time to the Sith. “Take care of yourself Lana.”

Lana gave the Anomid one final nod in thanks before ducking out the door. Lana bypassed taking the public transportation rails and instead opted to temporarily borrow two swoop bikes from a local gang currently too occupied drinking and harassing the locals to notice. She angled her bike through the dirty streets and broke free up into the upper city and headed towards her ship, hoping it location was still undiscovered. Her senses were on high alert for trouble, but so far nothing had alerted her. 

The landing bay came into view and Lana stopped a few yards away from the entrance to ditch the bikes before stealing across the empty platform to her ship. The area was desolate of other lifeforms save for a few maintenance droids that loitered about under the artificial lights. Lana sighed in relief when her ship came into view. It sat untouched just as she had left it. 

“HK use your scanners to keep watch while I install the navicomputer,” Lana ordered and HK smartly saluted her. He slung his rifle off his back and held it at the ready. Lana punched in her access code and watched the landing ramp lower. Lana rushed up the ramp, passed the crew bunks and refresher, to the cockpit where she lay her bag down carefully as to not damage the navicomputer. Pulling the tech out she set it to the side and yanked off the maintenance panel in front of her. She deftly rewired the navicomputer into the ships main hard drive and then replaced the panel securely. Time to take off. She started her ship sublight engines and turned to exit down the ramp and recall HK. The droid was standing a few meters away, his back turned towards her. Lana sensed them before she saw them. 

“HK down,” Lana shouted and the droid immediately dropped as she shot a stream of lightening over its head. A crimson blade appeared out of the darkness intercepting the torrent the Dark Side energy while another double-sided blade spun out of the gloom right at her midsection. Lana flipped backwards, drawing her lightsaber at the peak of her jump before landing nimbly. The two robed men from before stepped forward, the artificial light from the lamp posts bathing them in ethereal light. 

“Traitor,” one of them hissed and Lana knew these were no opportunistic Sith looking to steal or to stretch their powers on one they thought was weaker than them. More assassin's sent by the Dark Council who had somehow tracked her down. Lana leveled her blade in front of her. They charged together. Lana met their flashing blades with an unmatched fury of her own. She wouldn't fall here to these faceless assassin's. Not when she was so close to finding some real answers. Lana twirled her saber in defensive concentric circles, favoring the Soresu style of combat to deal with more than one attacker. One of the assassin's darted forward and swung wide at her knees while the other aimed for her neck. A move used to take the unaware off guard, but Lana was senses were keen as she tracked the two blades. The single blade was moving a hair slower than the other. She timed her dodge to the last possible seconds and twisted in the air between the arcing sabers, landing behind her attackers. She reversed her grip on her saber and drove her crimson blade back into the chest of one of the assassin's. He cried in surprise then slumped to the ground. 

The second assassin unleashed a powerful telekinetic blast, knocking her backwards several feet. Lana rolled to absorb the impact then sprang to her feet. Several shots drew the assassin's attention before he could attack again to HK who was now loading a grenade into his rifle. The assassin hissed and shot a stream of lightening at the droid, but HK smoothly rolled out of the way and fired his grenade. The Sith leaped to avoid the blast, but was caught in the fringes of the explosion, causing him to stumble. Lana dashed forward before the assassin had a chance to recover and cleanly cleaved the Sith in two. HK jogged forward to scan both of the bodies quickly. 

“Report: Hostiles eliminated Master. My scanners indicate no other beings in the immediate area.” Lana nodded at HK's brief and then grabbed the dismembered legs of the one assassin and dragged them over to the edge of the landing platform. She tossed them over into the dark void and HK followed suit tossing the other attacker's body over also. It would take sometime for someone to find them. Enough time for Lana to be clear of this planet. 

“Let's go HK,” Lana said as she headed the landing ramp. HK followed behind silently and sat in the seat next to hers. Lana thumbed the release and the ship began to rise swiftly into the air. As they broke the atmosphere she sat back in her seat, a quiet sigh of relief leaving her lips. The assassin's had gotten too close for Lana's liking. She should have been able to sense them before they were upon her, but instead she had been forced into a fight. A fight HK handled himself remarkably well in. Lana smiled at the droid inwardly. Perhaps HK was a better find then Lana had first believed. 

Her senses were clouded. By what Lana had a long laundry list of things. Grief and worry over Caydenn's possible demise, stress over being on the run from the Empire, and the gnawing doubt that everything she was doing was in vain. And most most of all she was angry at herself. Angry that she had not made more progress, angry that she didn't have the answers, angry that she felt utterly lost. Even with her revised navicomputer, navigating Wild Space was still extremely dangerous and the territory spanned several sectors worth of space. Lana could wander amongst the stars for years and never find the mysterious fleet that had ultimately killed Marr. She wrinkled her forehead in dissatisfaction. She wanted the peace that only a clear cut answer could bring. Lana scowled deeply. She was a Sith bred to thrive in harsh realities and unpleasant circumstances. 

Peace is a lie, there is only passion. 

Lana opened her golden eyes and instead of pushing the feelings of doubt, grief, and anger away like she had been for the past few months she embraced them. The emotion welled up inside of her like a buzzing current setting her nerves on fire. 

Through passion, I gain strength.

The fire settled throughout her whole body. The blaze of power was threatening to overwhelm her, but Lana held it back with the ease that came from years of practice. 

Through strength, I gain power. 

The burning power sharpened her mind and emboldened her resolve. She would not lose herself to the hopelessness of her task. The enormity of it would not frighten her. She was Sith. 

Through power, I gain victory. 

Her fingers ghosted over the controls. The navicomputer blinked a list of coordinate's Lana had yet to explore. She chose the closest one and thumbed it into the computer. The ship's engines began to hum under her feet. She was ready. 

Through victory, my chains are broken. 

With HK by her side she would find the mysterious enemies that lurked in Wild Space. Nothing was going to stop her. Not the Republic, not the Empire, and certainly not her own misgivings. She had to discover the truth. She was the only one who could now. 

'The Force shall set me free,' Lana thought as the stars around her bent into celestial rays of white light.

**Author's Note:**

> Guys I love HK-55. He's just the best.  
> And yeah Crale Brintt is a made up character, but Swtor has given so little about Lana's past sometimes I feel the need to fill it in..


End file.
